Steam injection water heater



Oct. 4, 1949. M. c. ModRE Q 2,483,426

STEAM INJECTION WATER HEATER Filed Sept. 21, 1945 A; f I A? 2.9 3O 4. w

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MdrZg C. Moore/ Arron/way Patented Oct. 4, 1949 STEAM INJECTION WATER HEATER Marlin C. Moore, United'States Army, Xenia, Ohio Application September 21, 1945, Serial No. 617,887

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 3'70 0. G. 757) 5 Claims.

The invention described herein, ii' patented, may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without the payment to me of any royalty thereon,

This invention relates to a steam injection water heater, more particularly to a heater that is adapted to inject steam into the water adjacent the point of use, and to a safety shut-off device therefor.

This application is a continuation in part of my application-Serial Number 489,783, filedJune 5, 1943, Steam injection water heater, now abandoned.

One of the objects of the invention is'the furnishing of a continuous supply of hot water at any desiredtemperature when steam is available as a heating means.

Another object of the invention is the pro vision of a device that canbe employed where the outlet flow of hot water is intermittently shut off by the user at a point near the heater, for example, at a faucet at the end of ashort hose, or pipe, without danger to the user when the outlet is opened again.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for automatically cutting off the supply of steam to the line when the supply of cold water is interrupted.

The drawback of previously designed injection type heaters is the accumulation of water and steam which istrapped in the discharge line of the heater when the'flow is shut off at the outlet. This water becomes highly heated under the steam pressure, and when the outlet is again opened an explosive flow of scalding water and I.

steam is emitted. Furthermore, if for any reason the supply of water to the installation is cut off, the line is filled with steam and condensate, and any person-who carelessly opens the outlet while holding his hands in the flow is likely to be severely scalded.

The present heater was developed to overcome these drawbacks, and eliminates the danger of the previous type of heater by an arrangement of the steam valve that will instantly and automatically shut off the steam where it enters the heater, when the flow of hot water is shut off at the outlet, and also by providing a safety shutoff for the supply of steam which operates when the cold water supply fails, even though the a l outlet is open.

The heater is also provided with means for manually regulating the temperature of the water at the outlet at any time. The units are small and compact and one of suitable size and proportion can be located at any place where hot water is needed, thus eliminating the use of a central'heating tank and coil. It is also suitable for use at temporary installations, as in army and construction camps, where the ordinary types of water heaters are not suitable or available.

Withthe above objects and advantages in view, the invention consists of a construction and'combination of parts of which a preferred embodiment is illustrated in the accompanying drawing. Practical application may dictate certain changes or alterations and such changes may be made within the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawing forming a part. hereof and-in which the invention is illustrated:

The single figure is a side elevation view partly in section of the structure embodying the invention.

Referring more indetail to the drawing, the water heater iilincludes a coldwater inlet pipe H, a steam inlet pipe l2 and/a hot water outlet pipe l3 terminating in a flow controlling means such as the faucet indicated at M. The steam pipe I2 is received in the inlet of a shut-on valve casing 15, and a valve seat I6 is formed'in the casing 15. A valve ll is movable toward and away from seat iii to control the flow of the steam through the valve casing and is preferably provided with a sealing disc l8 of any suitable material to engage the seat and prevent leakage. Valve H is operated toward and away fromits seat It by a valve stem H), which is engaged with the diaphragm 29, preferably by screw threads not shown. The diaphragm 2!! is positioned within a sealed diaphragm chamber 2!.

A tubular member 22 is mounted on the bottom of the casing is and is threaded on the outside as shown in order that a nut 23 can be provided to support the yoke 24. An adjusting nut 25 is also mounted on the screw threaded portion of the member 22, anda compression spring 26 is mounted on the member 22 and the stem l9 between the nut 25 and the diaphragm 2! The spring 26 with the adjusting means 25 serves to balance the diaphragm between the steam and water pressures to control the opening of valve H.

The diaphragm casing 2! is. supported from the yoke 24 by means of rods 21 held in place by nuts 28. The lower pairs of nuts 28 serve also to clamp the diaphragm casing forming pieces together with the diaphragm between the edges, where it serves as a sealing member for the casing.

The outlet-port 29 of the valve casing I tire- 3 ceives the pipe 30 therein and a temperature regulating valve 31 is connected to the pipe 30 at its other end. The valve 3| is connected to the inlet 32 of the injection jet 33 by means of a pipe 34.

The injection jet 33 receives the cold water inlet pipe I l at the inlet 35. The outlet port 36 of the injection jet is connected to the inlet 31 of a Venturi tube 33, and the outlet 39 of the Venturi 33 is connected to the hot Water outlet pipe [3. At this point the steam and cold water are thoroughly mixed While passing through the Venturi tube 38 to the outlet.

A port 40 is positioned at the low pressure point in the venturi 38 and is adapted to receive a short coupling 4| which is connected to the safety shutofi device 43. Under ordinary conditions water passes freely from the Venturi to the lower part of the diaphragm casing 2! through the device 43 and the coupling pipe 44.

In operation, water enters the injection jet 33 through port 35 and flows through the Venturi tube 38 to the hot water outlet l3. Steam from the line l2 passes through the shut-off casing l 5, the valve being open when the heater is in operation, and water is being drawn from the outlet 15, then through temperature regulator 3i to the injection jet 33. The steam combines with and heats the water at this point. As the water passes through the restricted section of the Venturi tube 38 to the outlet, the resulting low pressure on the diaphragm 20, with the aid of the compression spring 25, keeps the steam shut-01f valve I! open when hot water is being used.

When the hot water supply at the outlet i3 is shut ed at any point l4 whether near to or remote from the heater, the pressure of the water is conducted to diaphragm chamber 21 through pipe 4|, shut-ofi device 43 and pipe 64. This pressure on the diaphragm 29 is sufficient to overcome compression spring 26 and the pressure of the steam supply and close the valve ll, thus shutting off the steam and preventing further heating of the water trapped between the heater I3 and the outlet at the end of the pipe I3. The valve ll is kept closed by the water pressure on the diaphragm 20, until the outlet is again open. This releases the pressure on the diaphragm 20, which allows the valve H to open and steam to enter and mix with and heat the cold water entering from inlet I I.

In order to prevent the escape of steam unmixed with water if the outlet Hi should be opened while the water supply is shut ofi, a shut-01f device 43 is provided. The shut-off device 43 comprises a housing 45 inclosing a difierential pressure operated two-Way valve body 46. The valve body 46 consists of two cylindrical portions of diflferent diameters, the smaller head 4! being at the top and the portion of the valve above it communicating with the pipe 48 leading to the upper part of the shut-01f valve chamber H5. The part of the valve chamber below the larger valve face as receives the pipe 4| leading to the Venturi. The valve body 41 is freely slidable within the chamber, but is biased to its upper position by the spring 50. The screw adjusting means provides for adjusting the tension of the spring 50 to balance the valve 41 in accordance with the steam and water pressure available at any particular installation.

When the valve 41 is in its upper position the water pressure from the Venturi is transmitted through the spring containing portion of the chamber without interruption and to the diaphragm chamber 2| through pipe 44. A by-pass 52 is provided, however, between the upper portion of the valve chamber and the passage 53 which receives the pipe 44. When the water pressure in the Venturi is non-existent the steam pressure through the line 48 is sufiicient to displace the valve body 46 downwardly, although it operates on its smaller face 47. The steam pressure is then by-passed through the passage 52 and pipe 44 to the diaphragm chamber 2|, where it operates to keep the valve I! closed.

Thus it will be seen that the water pressure from the heater operates on the larger face 49 of the valve body and with the aid of the spring overcomes the pressure of the steam on the smaller face 41, thus opening the lower port 53 and closing the by-pass 52. When the water supply fails there is no water pressure in the lower valve chamber, and the pressure of the steam on the upper face 41 of the valve body overcomes the force of the spring 50 and moves the valve body or piston 46 down, thereby opening the bypass 52. The steam supplies through the pipe 48 then enters the diaphragm chamber 2! through by-pass 52, passage 53 and pipe 64, closing the steam valve [7 and preventing the steam from entering the heater when no water is present. The shut-off device will operate whether the hot water outlet !4 is open or closed, and thus guards against the discharge of steam or scalding water from the faucet M in case of failure of the water supply.

The temperature of the heated water is manually controlled by the temperature regulator valve 3!. Since the valve 1! acts merely as a check valve when the pressure in the Venturi tube is low and the pressure in the steam line is exerted to open the valve H, the quantity of steam passing to the mixing chamber is positively controlled by adjusting the valve 3!. The maximum capacity of the valve 3! should be approximately equal to the maximum capacity of the valve ll, but when the valve 3| is partly closed the check valve ll need not open fully. If less steam per unit of time passes through the valve 3| while the quantity of water passing through the mixing chamber remains the same, the temperature of the heated water will be lower.

Thus it will be seen that a supply of hot water w can be provided wherever steam and water are available. The heater provides hot water as used, thus eliminatin the necessity of providing a storage tank with the consequent loss of heat from the stored hot water. The use of a steam valve controlled by the opening and closing of the hot water outlet and the steam shut-off device operating When the water supply fails, together eliminate the danger of excessive amoimts of steam and scaldin water getting into the line when hot water is not being drawn from the outlet, and there is consequently no need to shut oh the steam supply manually when the faucet is closed. This heater is particularly useful in steamships and other steam-power installations and in military organizations for providing hot water in washhouses at camps and with field equipment.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A steam injection Water heater comprising supply lines for steam and water, a Venturi mixing chamber connected to said lines and having an outlet, a valve in said steam line, means comprising a diaphragm and a diaphragm chamber for operating said valve, a pressure-conducting means interconnecting said diaphragm chamber with said mixing chamber and said steam supply line, and a two-way differential pressure operated valve in said pressure conducting means for admitting water from said venturi or steam from said supply line to said diaphragm chamber depending on the relative pressures in said steam line and mixing chamber.

2. A steam injection water heater comprising a steam supply pipe having a valve and a water supply pipe, a Venturi mixing chamber connected to said pipes and having a closable outlet, a diaphragmcontrolled operating means for said valve, said means having pressure transmitting lines to said steam supply and to said venturi, and a two-way valve common to said lines, said twoway valve having a slidable body adapted to close the steam pressure transmitting line when water pressure in the venturi reaches a predetermined point.

3. A steam injection water heater comprising supply lines for steam and water, a Venturi mixing chamber connected to said lines and terminating in an outlet, a valve in said outlet, means controlled by the Venturi efiect of water flowing from the outlet to admit steam to the chamber, a bypass from the steam supply to the steam supply control means, and a valve in said bypass exposed to pressures from the venturi and the steam supply line and adapted to be opened by extreme low pressure in the venturi to cut ofi the steam supply.

4. A steam injection water heater comprising a steam supply pipe, a valve therein, a water supply pipe, a mixing chamber connected to said pipes and having a closable outlet, control means for said valve, said control means having pressuretransmitting lines to said steam supply pipe and said chamber, a two-way valve common to said lines and including a slidable valve body, a spring engaging one end of said valve body to normally close off the steam. pressure-transmitting line, said valve body being exposed to pressures from said chamber and from said steam line, whereby the ope-ration of the two-way valve is controlled by the differential pressures in said steam line and said mixing chamber in conjunction with said spring, and means communicating with the two-way valve and responsive to pressure passing therethrough to operate the first-mentioned valve.

5. A steam injection water heater comprising a steam supply pipe, a valve therein, a water supply pipe, a mixing chamber connected to said pipes having a closable outlet, control means for said valve, said control means having pressuretransmitting lines to said steam supply pipe and said chamber, a two-way valvecommon to said lines and including a valve body, said valve body being exposed to pressures from said chamber and from said steam line, whereby the operation of the two-way valve is controlled by the differential pressures in said steam line and said mixing chamber, and means communicating with the two-way valve and responsive to pressure passing therethrcugh to operate the first-mentionedv valve.

MARLIN C. MOORE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 960,209 Sweeny et a1. May 31, 1910 1,256,853 Warner Feb. 19, 1918 1,338,592 Sanford Apr. 27, 1920 1,753,662 Merker Apr. 8, 1930 1,845,660 Haven Feb. 16, 1932 2,243,144 Auckland May 2'7, 1941 2,335,250 Adlam Nov. 30, 1943 

